1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of emergency evacuation/rescue devices and in particular, to an evacuation/rescue sled that inflates around the occupant/victim stabilizing them for transport whether they are on a bed, on a hillside or in a building. The sleds bottom surface (that which comes in contact with the field of travel) is covered with two sided scales which expose different surfaces depending on the direction the sled the sled is pulled. If pulled from the front/head using the front/head rope, the sled glides easily on an exposed slick bottom surface and when pulled from the bottom/tail end of the sled using the tail rope, the sled drags slowly on the exposed rubbery surface. The tail rope is the rope a rescuer would use to take the sled down a flight of stairs. The midsections of the sled have accordion pleats, FIG. 3 which do not inflate, constructed of a material, which will not snag or hook on protruding objects. The accordion pleats allow the sled to maneuver around tight corners, doorways, and stairwells with narrow landings, or any immovable objects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While there are evacuation sleds in prior art, none of them are known to inflate around the occupant/victim stabilizing them to a backboard. Nor are there any known to use accordion pleat construction at the mid-sides of the sled in order to allow the sled to easily navigate tight turns and narrow confines. None of the prior art is able to show the use of two sided scales on the bottom surface of a sled that present either a rubbery or smooth bottom surface depending the direction from which the sled is pulled.
It is believed that using a sled, that has accordion pleated inserts at the mid-section of the sled, will allow the sled to be easily pulled around tight corners in buildings. The stereotypical design of a building does not allow for easy navigation of long rigid devices, like the standard gurney in use in rescue.